220V Welder Outlet Question??

[cruiseroutfit]

My new casa has a regular 3 prong 220V outlet in the garage... I need to change it over to the "twist-lock" style (L6 style) to match my welder and my extension cord.

The wall has a Red, Black, White wires... and a bare copper that was NOT previously hooked up.

So I go down to Lowes, pick up an outlet that matches my cord, get home and it only has 3 hookups on the back, Ground, and two others (labeled X & Y)

The instructions that came with it say to ONLY hook up the green/ground wire, and then the white (nuetral) and then another color... wouldn't that only make it 120V?? It says right on the plug 30A-250V

So, can I hook up my nuetral (white) to the ground, and then my other two (red and black) to the other prongs??

Do I have the wrong plug? This one is called a "generator hookup" outlet but that is all they had down at Lowes that fit my welder...

TIA

 

[notajeep]

sounds right to me. 220 is usually pretty easy to hook up, 2 110v and the ground.
Dan

 

[timpanogos]

yea, sounds like the red wire is ground ... if you have a meter, just double check ... 120vac black to red, 120vac white to red, 220vac white to black.

white, x, black y - red other

 

[UTAHCRUISER]

Hey Kurt, you should hook up the white wire from your wall to the ground terminal on the plug, and then the black and red to the 2 hot terminals, and that will give you 220 V.
The white wire is common or neutral (and will act as a ground if needed), and the red and black are hot.

Chad

 

[bobdog]

Got to say that everyone who has responded to this thread is wrong. Hook up the ground(copper or green) not the neutral(white) and use the two hot leads(red and black) The previous owners had it wrong and it was potentially dangerous.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

OK... so with a multi-meter I derived the black and red are the 110V legs... the white is the nuetral (I wrote that wrong above) and obviously the bare copper is the groud..

So it is correct to use the neutral or the ground?? I thought they do the same thing back at the box??

 

[timpanogos]

na, if you open up the box, you will see 3 main rails going vertical and typically a horizontal ground rail on the bottom (all bare copper wires)

The bare copper wire bar is typically connected to a water pipe, the other three hit the power pole

 

[bobdog]

Neutral and ground are tied together at the box but you should not use the neutral at the outlet. use the copper ground and just cut off the white neutral and cap it with a wire nut. Under some conditions the welder case could become hot if you use the neutral.

 

[I Lean]

Got to say that everyone who has responded to this thread is wrong. Hook up the ground(copper or green) not the neutral(white) and use the two hot leads(red and black) The previous owners had it wrong and it was potentially dangerous.

Really? I think all the 220 outlets in my garage are wired wrong then. What's dangerous about it? (what kind of potential problem am I looking at?)

 

[cruiseroutfit]

White versus Green...

I've been searching all over online, I've found arguments for both in regards to a welder... the only one that said Green AND had a reason was here:

The Neutral is not used on many pieces of equipment, and a transformer is one of them. The transformer in the welder creates a new neutral source on the secondary side that feeds the welder, so you do not need to supply a neutral to the primary.

Generally you do not pull a neutral, or if you are using an SO type cord, you can cap the neutral as you do not need it.

I think I am going to switch my plug and use the copper rather than the nuetral...

 

[I Lean]

I just checked mine...I definitely have the neutral hooked to the third leg of my 220 plugs. I looked around online as well and found basically the same instructions bobdog is giving....use the ground and 2 hots for a 3 wire setup, and only use the neutral if you have a 4 wire, or for 110v use. (which uses only one hot leg, a neutral, and a ground rather than two hots and a ground)

One of these days I'm gonna have to change stuff around. Glad you asked the question Kurt, and glad you answered Bob.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Yup, thanks Bob

 

[bobdog]

White versus Green...

I've been searching all over online, I've found arguments for both in regards to a welder... the only one that said Green AND had a reason was here:


I think I am going to switch my plug and use the copper rather than the nuetral...

That makes no sense at all. No 220 circut needs a neutral. The reason some appliances use them is to run 110 circuts like a clock on a range or the timer on a dryer. For your welder you are grounding the case for safety not to carry current unless there is a fault. The code is very clear that neutral is not to be used for this and can only be connected to ground at the panel.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Another 220V question...

How many 220V oultes can I reasonably put on a single breaker?? I think the code only allows one right? But if it is just for my welder (my only 220V shop tool), its not like I will be using them both at once, I just want to have one at each side of the garage. Though I don't know that I am saving anything, I have plenty of spare room in my breaker box.

I'm thinking I should add those now before I paint... for those that have been in the same situation... would you do more than two? I'm thinking about adding another to my "compressor corner" (a small framed in closet the PO had there for his compressor).

Would you hard-plumb some air line to corners of the garage? Is there a plastic pipe (non-pvc I assume) that is relatively cheap for plumbing air into the garage??

 

[cruiseroutfit]

That makes no sense at all. No 220 circut needs a neutral. The reason some appliances use them is to run 110 circuts like a clock on a range or the timer on a dryer. For your welder you are grounding the case for safety not to carry current unless there is a fault. The code is very clear that neutral is not to be used for this and can only be connected to ground at the panel.

10-4, thanks for the clarification

 

[I Lean]

Just for comparison, I have 4 220 outlets around my garage. One in each back corner, one in the middle by the workbench, and one on the front side between the two doors. That ends up being the one I use 90% of the time. One of the back corner ones was for a compressor I no longer have.

 

[kkemp]

Sorta on the same topic. What is the highest amperage circuit breaker you can have if your wiring is 10 gauge? Mine is currently 30 amps. This actually is a little low for my welder. I could really use 40 amps.

 

[timpanogos]

I also wonder if they have ground fault breakers for 220v at those higher amps ... might be a good idea for a welder?

 

[olywrestle]

Don't most welders have to be on a 50 amp breaker? I know when I wired mine I put it on a 50 Amp.

Ac-225 arc welder

 

[kkemp]

Don't most welders have to be on a 50 amp breaker? I know when I wired mine I put it on a 50 Amp.

Ac-225 arc welder

What gauge wire did you use?